by
Donald Trump Jr. and Dr. Santa Ono
When the Florida Board of Governors on Tuesday rejected Dr. Santa Ono's appointment as president of the University of Florida one person bound to be happy was Donald Trump Jr.
In a posting on X, President Trump's son, 47, who has not ruled out a run for president "maybe one day," wrote days before the crucial vote:
WTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!??? This woke psycho might be a perfect fit for a Communist school in California, but how is he even being considered for this role in Florida?
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 28, 2025
Every single member of the Florida Board of Governors should vote against him!!! https://t.co/31E3WQdMPy
The Florida Board of Governors — the 17-member body that oversees the state’s 12 public universities — rejected Ono a week after the University of Florida Board of Trustees unanimously approved him for president, the Gainesville Sun reports.
According to The Gainesville Sun:
Ono was grilled by governors for nearly three hours about his past support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs during his time as president of the University of Michigan, and for allowing an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters to remain on campus for a month. He was also questioned at length about his views on antisemitism and on holistic versus merit-based admissions.
While earlier supporting DEI, Ono had more recently said such programs were misguided and that they do more harm than good.
Trump's son wasn't the only Republican who voiced opposition. Florida Sen. Rick Scott opposed the appointment as well as Florida Congressmen Greg Steube, Byron Donalds and Jimmy Patronis.
The Gainsville Sun reported that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in 2023 banning DEI initiatives in public colleges and at a news conference on May 29 said that some of Ono's past statements made him "cringe." He went on to say that he would leave the decision up to the Board of Governors, most of whom he appointed.
